Living Green

Stephanie Metz

What started as a normal neighborhood on Enright Avenue in Price Hill has become a thriving “eco-village” intent on showing the world how to respect the environment.

Enright Ridge Urban Eco-Village is a community of 90 environmentally friendly homes surrounded by more than 200 acres of woods, numerous walking trails and the Imago Earth Center, the home of Imago, an organization dedicated to improving humanity’s relationship with the environment.

Both the Enright Ridge Eco-Village and Imago were founded by husband and wife Jim and Eileen Schenk. The eco-village began in 2004 as the Schenks invited other ecologically conscious homeowners to the existing neighborhood on Enright Avenue. Since then, the Schenks have also purchased three homes, rehabbed them to be ecologically friendly and then sold them. The community fit in well with the Imago Earth Center and the nature trails that were already established in the area.

The eco-village also focuses on the strength of its community. The neighborhood has a food buying club which makes natural and organic foods available to residents. Neighbors also come together for pancake breakfasts, chili cook-offs and more.

Living in an eco-house is “not a big change, it’s just thinking differently,” says Jim Schenk. “We could reduce energy consumption in the U.S. by half without affecting people’s lives at all. I think that in terms of the house itself, when you insulate, put in new windows, those things don’t require much change at all,” he says.

To start an eco-village, all you need is one or two other families who are willing to look at living in a sustainable way and begin working with them, he explains. “Having other people who support you is really helpful, even critical.”

For more information regarding the Enright Ridge Eco-Village, Imago Earth Center or learning about how to start your own eco-village go to www. imagoearth.org/earthcenter.html or call (513) 921-5124.